Continuous mining machine having lateral levelling means



CONTINUOUS MINING MACHINE HAVING LATERAL LEVELLING MEANS Original Filed June 13, 1957 1 U) I: N

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- Z I d O (\2 a $9 a o l l c U 0 2 5 i v g P (2 a 0 0 O Q INVENTOR. STERLING C.MOON, DECEASED,

Kmmem: M. Moon, Avwmsmmmx, BY D 3,100,629 CONTINUOUS MINHJG MACHlNE HAVING LATERAL LEVELLING MEANS Sterling C. Moon, deceased, late of Dublin, Ohio, by

Katharyne M. Moon, administratrix, Dnbiin, Ohio, assign'or, by mesne assignments, to .ietfrey Gaiion Mmnfactoring Company, a corporation of Ohio Original application June 13, 1957, Ser- No. 665,379, new Patent No. 3,074,701, dated Jan. 22, 1963. Divided and this application July 28, 1961, Ser. No. 130,221

1 Claim. (Cl. 2629) The instant invention relates to continuous mining.

machines provided with a mining mechanism at the front end thereof, and means for gathering the mined material and delivering the material to a conveyor, which extends rearwardly along the machine for conveying the material to the rear end of the machine, at which point the material is discharged to a suitable conveyance for taking the material out of the mine, the whole machine being provided with suitable traction means for propelling the machine forward into the face of the mine to continuously remove material therefrom.

. It is an object of the instant invention to provide an improved continuous mining machine supported on endless traction treads located one at either side of the machine for propelling the machine, and including means for depressing one or the other of the endless traction treads to effort a lateral adjustment of the machine to maintain the mining mechanism at the front of the machine level in a lateral direction.

This application is a division of the application of S. C. Moon, Serial No. 665,379, filed June 13, 1957, for Continuous Mining Machine, now Patent No. 3,074,701.

Other objects of the invention will appear hereinafter,

the novel features and combinations being set forth in the appended claim.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the continuous min-i ing machine of this invention; and

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the front end of the mining machine.

Referring to the drawings, the continuous mining machine of the instant invention is generally illustrated in FIG. 1. The mining machine comprises a main frame 20 which is supported on endless crawler traction means 21, disposed one at each side of the main frame 20, for propelling the mining machine. A conveyor 22 extends longitudinally along the center of the main frame 20 and serves to discharge the mined material at the rear end of the mining machine, from a material discharge boom section 27 forming the tail end of the conveyor 22. At the front end of the mining machine there is provided a mining mechanism 23 with forwardly projecting cutting means 24, which is adapted to be fed into the face of a mine as the machine is propelled forwardly by the crawler traction means 21 for removing material from the face of the mine. The mining mechanism 23 is supported on a gathering head 25, which is disposed adjacent the floor of the mine and extends rearwardly and upwardly towards the main frame 20 for delivering the mined material from the floor of the mine to the conveyor 22, which operates to carry the material to the rear end of the mining machine to be discharged from the conveyor boom section 27 at that point. The various elements of the mining machine are United States Patent 3,100,629 Patented Aug. 13, 1963 ice operated and controlled from either of twin operators stations 26, located one at each side of the main frame 20 at the rear end thereof.

The mining machine is supported on traction means 21 which comprises endless crawler treads 126 disposed one at either side of the main frame 20 and adapted to be independently driven so that the machine may be propelled around a curve. A sprocket wheel 127 at the front end of the main frame 2% guides the front end of the crawler tread 126 and also drives the crawler tread 126 by engagement of the sprocket teeth with the links of the crawler tread 126. An idler sprocket wheel 128 is disposed adjacent the rear of the main frame 20 and guides the rear end of the crawler tread 126. Behind the driving sprocket wheel 127 there is provided a shoe 129 which is generally flat and extends rearwardly behind the driving sprocket wheel 127 to guide the crawler tread 126 with a floor engaging portion of the tread 126 bearing against the shoe 129. The shoe 129 is pivotally mounted on a pivot pin 130 and may be swung downwardly about this pivot. The shoe 129 has a head end 131 and a flat intermediate portion 132 which are normally in engagement with the crawler tread 126 to guide the same. The shoe 129 fulther includes a heel 133 that is normally disposed above the crawler tread 126 and curves upwardly from the flat intermediate portion 132 of the shoe 129. Above the heel 133 there is formed a bracket 134- to which there is pivotally secured a cylinder and piston mechanism 135 by a pin 136. The upper end of the cylinder and piston mechanism 135 is secured to the main frame 20 by a pin 137.

The shoe 129 can be pivotally adjusted about the pivot pin 130 by operation of the cylinder and piston mechanism 135, operation of which will lower the heel portion 133 into engagement with the crawler treads 126 and raise the head portoin 131. The effect of this operation is to change the path of the crawler tread 126 and to vide a lateral adjustment of the machine to maintain the machine level in a lateral direction irrespective of the contour of the mine floor, which will usually be somewhat uneven. The effect of this adjustment is to provide a lateral tilting of the mining mechanism 23 at the front of the mining machine to maintain it level in a lateral direction.

Obviously those skilled in the art may make various changes in the details and arrangement of parts Without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claims hereto appended, and applicant therefore wishes not to be restricted to the precise construction herein disclosed.

Having thus described and shown an embodiment of the invention, what it is desired to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

In a continuous mining machine having a mining mechanism for removing material from the face of a mine and means for propelling the mining machine, said propelling means comprising an endless traction tread disposed at each side of the mcahine and supporting the machine on the mine floor, a sprocket in driving engagement with the traction tread, said traction tread being trained about the sprocket, a shoe disposed at the inner side of the traction tread adjacent the sprocket with a floor engaging portion of the traction tread bearing against the shoe, pivot means adjacent the sprocket pivotally supporting the shoe, said shoe extending away from the sprocket and the pivot means and terminating in a heel portion normally spaced from the traction tread, means for individually adjusting said shoe on the pivot means to bring the heel portion of the shoe into engagement with the traction tread to depress the traction tread on one side of the mining machine to laterally adjust the mining mechanism.

References Cited in the file of this patent 7 UNITED STATES PATENTS 

